Former Waitresses File Lawsuit Against Parx Casino
By Jenn Bernstein,
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Alycia Campiglia loves being a mother of two, but she did not know when she became pregnant with her now three year old son Julian, she'd be demoted from her job as a cocktail waitress at Parx Casino in Bensalem.
Waitresses, or Parkettes, wear a corsette-like outfit.
When Campiglia told her supervisor she was pregnant, she was informed she needed to switch positions when her costume didn't fit.
She was offered a position at the concession stand and player services, but Campiglia estimates she made four hundred dollars less per week than before.
"I was very upset," said Campiglia, "over time I kind of felt like this is wrong."
Campiglia and another former waitress, Christina Aicher, filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which ruled in their favor.
Now the two women are part of a federal lawsuit against Parx Casino.
"In this day and age I didn't think that happened anymore," said Campiglia, "I was thinking that happened 50 years ago, not now."
Employment attorney Sidney Gold is representing both women.
"An employer cannot target women simply because they're pregnant and challenge them with regards to their position of employment," said Gold.
"It is the worst case I've ever seen of invidious discrimination in a long time."
Parx Casino declined an on camera interview, but confirmed a previous statement that they've "...changed the policy to say you can work if you're pregnant. We do have maternity costumes now," said the Casino's Chief Counsel and Vice President Thomas Bonner.
Campiglia says she's glad the policy is different for women there now.
"I actually got e-mails [and] phone calls, they were thanking me that I did this," said Campiglia.
"There's still things that I've been through because I did lose that job and lost that money, that I'm still fixing," said Campiglia.
One policy still remains, because they are listed as "entertainers" any Parkette, or Park Man, can be terminated if they gain more than seven percent of the body weight they were hired at.
The discrimination case is now before a federal judge. A trial date will be set within the next six months.
